Forever in my heart
by I am a true warrior
Summary: Grace has had many issues in her life. Then she finds hope in her first real friends in the eighth grade. When a sayter comes along and takes her to camp, she feels out of place and the only way to make it through is to have her friends. The only problem? Mortals, hunters, and demi-gods don't always mix. [Eventual romance]
1. Chapter 1

**So I have not been on Fanfiction for a long time—my bad! I have no real excuse… ^^'**

**Please don't hate me? Lol, here you are!**

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I had an interesting life. Always have, always will. Not interesting in the "cool" way. Interesting in the "you creep me out, stay away from me" way. In the sixth grade, I had huge fights with bullies to the point they started calling me "Sparta" as a cruel joke. Police got involved, charges were pressed—I nearly had to go to a foster home, but eventually, everything "calmed down" by the last week of school. I thought that I would never go back to that school, but my mom insisted on my going back, so I did. The problems were fewer than in the sixth grade, but it still wasn't even close to "normal". So by the eighth grade, I went to a different school. There, I was known as the crazy (in both the good and bad way) funny, smart, awesome, girl to my friends. And to everyone else, anti-social, not cool, and weird. I had all As and Bs for once in my life, and things were looking pretty good, until one day I my language arts teacher tried to claw me to death over my missing homework assignment.

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**Okay, a slow start, but it will pick up soon enough. :)**

**This is for all my friends- you may have different names in my fic, but you _know_ who you are. This is for you. Happy end of the year gift for you all. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you, ****ChandlerBing12**** fir being my very first reviewer and within the first ten minutes! And thanks for one of my besties, Maxine. I love you too, babes! And to The Inked Pen—Thanks for the tip. Advise is always welcome. **

**Sorry I was not able to update sooner—I broke my elbow on the day I planned to update it. As such, it fanfiction is not my highest priority, but I will try to update as much as I can. Hope you guys understand and that it is still hard for me to type. Anyway, here you are:**

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I walked into my Language Arts class for second period. My teacher, Ms. Crumbaugh, was reading one of those old, classical books books that make my Dyslexia go on a whirl-wind rollercoaster ride. It took me a few moments to decipher the elegant scribble-scrabble title—_Romeo and Juliet—_Ugh. Romance, really? I hated romance novels. Maybe I could convince her not to have that as our next reading assignment.

"Ms. Crumbaugh?" I asked, walking over to her. "Is that book our next reading assignment?"

She looked over the edge of the yellow pages. "Yes, Grace… It is… Do you have a problem with this?"

I looked at the ground and laughed a little, shyness getting the better of me. "Well, you see—"

"I'm not going to change the assignment, if _that_ is what you were hoping for."

I shifted on my feet uncomfortable. "Um, it's just that…" I drifted off. I had no idea what to say. I was about to leave when Ms. Crumbaugh's face started to turn red and smoke can out of her ears—literally.

"You demigod children think the same! Especially hot-headed Apollo children like you!" She scrunched up her face and hissed, revealing vemonous, sharp fangs. Her nails curled into talons and eyes burned a bright blood red.

I screamed in shock. "W-w—" My thoughts were running crazy. A million ideas popped into my head, I had no idea how to deal with it. I didn't listen to any of them—I just ran and tried to stay alive.

_For once in my life, _I thought, _thank God for having ADHD_. Usually, I thought ADHD was a burden. I acted stupid or did or said things I didn't mean, or I would space out, thinking about things or just letting my imagination take control of me. That was what got me into trouble eighty percent of the time. (The ten percent left is what other people do to hurt me.)

I ran down the halls yelling. I didn't say any words, just noises. After all, saying: "_Help my old teacher is a monster trying to eat me"_ would only mean getting put into a psycho house. Then I saw a friend of mine, Michelle. She was the only person I trusted at this school. I ran over to her, breathing heavily.

"My—teacher—a freaky monster… thing—" I panted, dropping to the floor. I was a fast runner, but I could only go so far before burning out. "Help?"

Behind me, I heard Ms. Crumbaugh screech and howl. Michelle took one look at her and cursed in some language. It was old. _Latin, maybe?_

She pulled me to my feet. "Come on. We need to get you out of here. I know you're tired, but we need to hurry."

Michelle took the lead, taking a shortcut to the parking lot. She opened her car and tossed me in the backseat, like a sack of potatoes.

"Do you know how to drive with a maniac bird thing chasing you?" I asked, starting to feel dizzy. I looked at my arm. A long gash ran down my arm. Why hadn't I noticed that before? I concentrated on the pain, trying to relax into it; but gave up the second Michelle hit the gas, making me fall into the floor.

"SLOW DOWN!" I demanded.

She laughed a dry chuckle, like she always did when she knew something cruel and thought I was being naïve, "Not if your life depended on it—and it does."

I can't tell you much about the car chase, because whatever scratched my arm did a really good job at making the cut deep and painful. The last thing I remember before passing out from pain and lethargy was a bright yellow light.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! I got reviews and you guys don't hate me! That you, thank you! (::) (::) (::) cookies for all!**

When I woke up, I found myself in a bed that I never slept in before, inside a room I'd never seen before. I was trying to lift myself up, when a familiar voice laughed softly. "Careful, silly."

I opened my eyes. Michelle. It was my best friend. Well, from the waist up, that is. From the bottom down, she was a goat!

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. What the heck, Michelle? What did you do—"

She put a hand over my mouth. "Shh. I'll explain everything, I promise. Now, I think you need to meet Chiron. Let's go."

Michelle helped me to my feet and we slowly walked around the room, until we got to the door. "Ready?" She asked me.

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

She pulled the door open, and I swear, my first thought was: Huh. My best friend took me to Narnia. There were these faun-like things, like Michelle, running around. The teenagers wore orange t-shirts, chasing each other with swords, bows and arrows, basketballs, and other weapons of torture.

"Like it?" She asked me, taking my hand, leading me into the madness.

I lightly punched her arm. "Are you kidding me? This is the best place ever!" And it was true for the most part, but there was a feeling I had—like something was, and always would be missing.

Michelle gave me a tour of the entire place. "So what do you think this place is?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's a camp. That's obvious."

"Right. Now, do you know _why_ you're here?"

I racked my brain, trying to think. I didn't sign up for a camp. "No."

She took me to the place known as the amphitheater and we watched a movie that explained everything. Michelle said is was PG-13. LIES! It was gory, bloody, scary, confusing, and did I mention the gore?

"What do you think?" Michelle asked me as we were walking to a centaur—yeah, a half man-half horse dude.

I rubbed my head. "It is hard to come to terms with in some ways, but in others… I understand. Who is my dad?"

"Chiron!" She yelled in response. "Come here please!"

The horse man—Chiron—trotted over. "Yes, m'dear?"

"This is Grace. She is my best friend. Apollo claimed her, so I brought her here. We already explained everything to her. Am I forgetting something?"

He looked at me, sizing me up. "No, you are fine. Go about your day. Maxine will take over from here."

Michelle went away.

"Chiron?" I asked. "Apollo was the Greek god of Music and healing, right?"

"Yes, he is," He replied with a smile. "Go to the fourteenth cabin—the cabin of Nyx—and ask for Maxine. She will help you out. If you have any further questions, you may turn to her.

I nodded and he trotted away, teaching a group of campers archery.

_Okay… Does anyone know the true definition of "help" around here? _I wondered. I walked around like a chicken with my head cut off. I had no idea what I was doing.

"Need help?" Someone said behind me. I turned around to see a boy about my age with black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. He wore all black, not like the rest of the campers. I instantly labeled him as the badass ladies man. Or maybe he was a self-chosen loner. Not really my type, but I wasn't about to turn down help.

"Um, yeah, hi. I'm Grace—"

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," He said, shaking my hand.

"Grace… daughter of Apollo, apparently. Chiron said I needed to find Maxine in the Nyx cabin… Do you know where that is?"

He laughed. "Oh yeah." He pointed behind me. "See that dark blue cabin with white dots at the top? Beside the obsidian black one with the skull?"

"Yup," I said awkwardly. It was hard to miss either cabins. They looked so bizarre…

"That's the Nyx cabin. The one beside it is mine. But Max isn't in there. She is helping Katie collect the strawberries."

I turned back around. "Thanks. Maybe we can hang out sometime."

He blushed slightly. "Um… Maybe some other time. I got to go, so…"

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

I walked to the strawberry patch, where two girls were picking strawberries. "Maxine?" I called.

A girl with long brown hair tied back into a braid with brown eyes looked up. She was pretty. "Yeah?"

"I'm Grace, daughter of Apollo. Do you have a minute to help out the new girl?"

She laughed at my stupid joke and wiped her hands clean. "I've gotta go," She told the other girl—Katie?—and ran to me. "So, what do you need help with?"

I scratched my head. "How about the finding of my cabin and getting the swing of things?"

She smile. "Yeah, and maybe get you some new clothes," She whispered in my ear.

I looked down and the t-shirt I wore in the morning was ripped, had holes in it, and was practically in ruins. I was blushing. "Oh. My. God."

"C'mon, I'll take you to the Aphrodite cabin and find you something decent to wear… maybe." She took my hand and lead me to the big pink cabin that smelled like French vanilla.

Maxine knocked on the door and yelled, "Piper!"

A girl older than me opened the door. She was pretty in the I'm-really-not-trying-to-look-good, if-you-say-I-do-I may-hit-you kind of way. "Hey."

"Grace here," She pushed me forward a little, "needs a wardrobe change. Think you can help?"

Another girl came pushed Piper out of the way and leaned on the door threshold. I'm not going to tell you what this girl looked like, because I have no idea—she wore _way_ too much makeup. I mean, there should be a legal law forbidding that much make up. WARENING: THE IDIOT WEARING THIS MUCH MAKEUP MAY HAVE LOST A FEW THOUSAND BRAIN CELLS. TALK TO HER AT RISK. MAY MAKE YOUR I.Q. GO DOWN SEVERAL POINTS.

Okay. That sounds mean, even to me. But she has that biyotch aura about her. _Calm sown, she hasn't even said a word to you. She might be nice._

Ashe looked me up and down, shuttering. "Um, sorry—there is a rule against having people of extreme ugliness in our cabin. It would distract from all the beauty."

_Yup, biytoch alert._

Piper came back with white nursing shoes. "Drew, wear the shoes of shame for two months and you are on cleaning duty starting now." I smiled as Drew smeared her mascara, putting the shoes on.

Piper lead me in. There were five people—Piper, Michelle, Drew, a blonde girl with tight curly pigtails and blue eyes, and a really cute boy with brown hair and brown eyes. "This is Lacy and Mitchell. I have to go spar, but they will get you ready." She lightly patted my shoulder and whispered, "Good luck."

_Oh boy._

I have a new respect for models. They have to deal with people's ridicule, walking high heels, hair sprayed stiff, and glitter in their eyes, while smiling—a talent I don't possess. But Lacy tried her hardest to make me look nice, and Mitchell tried his hardest to not laugh when I looked ridiculous. Michelle? She had no problem calling me out.

"Dude, you look like you have a facial twitch!" She laughed, rolling on a bed.

"There is glitter in my eye!" I yelled back, trying not to laugh myself. (And failing, might I add.)

Then Mitchell threw his hands up. "Okay. I gave you girls time to goof off, now let's really help this poor soul." He sat me down on his bed and wiped the glitter and makeup off my face. "I'm going to start over with a clear face, but don't worry—I won't add much. you don't need a lot of makeup." He silently worked his magic then gave me a mirror.

I had black eyeliner, eye shadow, and light pink lip gloss. "Wow. Thanks."

He moved around to my back. "Now, to fix your hair…"

"My hair is a hopeless case. It's very thick and curly."

He shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I think a ponytail will be fine. Did you dye you hair with the light blonde streaks, or are they natural?"

"Natural. It used to be brown, but I played outside a lot and got sun-kissed."

"Cool."

When we were totally done, I had a new makeover and hairstyle, shoes, and shirt. They told me not to worry about it—it was no big deal, but I would have to make it up to them _somehow_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to all my lovelies for reviewing! I love you all! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the anime, Bleach… Just in case any of you thought I did… e.e**

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Maxine took me to get my schedule next. I'm not sure what I imagined. Normal things, like cleaning the cabin, eating, and campfire were there. But the pegisi riding, sword fighting, and extreme surfing? Um… right. I didn't expect any of that. And I was _positive_ "capture the flag" was not anything like what I'd dealt with before.

"For most of the actives you do, you're going to need a sword or a knife. See the Hephaestus cabin for help with that," Maxine told me. "I'll take you to Leo. He can help you find something to whack people with." She nudged my shoulder, like hitting people with lethal weapons was a joke and happened all the time.

Just then, two boys—who looked a lot alike, except one was taller—ran over to us.

"Hey, Travis. Hey Connor," Maxine greeted. "What's up?"

"There is a thing going on in your cabin. Check it out, I think it is really bad!" The taller one said.

The shorter one, looked at me. "Hi. I'm Connor. Are you new here?"

Maxine put her arm around my shoulder. "Yup. This is Grace. She is a daughter of Apollo. No. Pranks on her. Got it? From either of you. As for my cabin, why don't _you_ show me, Travis?"

Travis blushed slightly. "Um, no thanks. Connor and I are busy, aren't we, bro?" Before Connor could answer, Travis was pulling them away.

I turned to Maxine. "Wha—"

"Travis and Connor Stoll. Sons of Hermes. Pull pranks, steal, flirt, and are very fast runners. My advice is stay away from them until you've learned the ropes. C'mon, let's find you a weapon."

We walked to a really cool looking cabin, where a dude who looked like a Latino woodland elf was hanging out around.

"Leo!" Maxine yelled, getting the boy's attention.

"This is Grace," Maxine introduced again, as I waved. "Daughter of Apollo. Needs a weapon. I'm thinking a custom-made bow and arrows will work. Do you think you could help?"

"Yeah. Sure. Follow me, Grace," He said, taking my hand. He lead me into the cabin and lead me to a small area in the back. "I make things back here," he told me.

"Cool," I said, trying to sound interested, It must have sounded really lame, because Leo laughed awkwardly. "I-I mean, I never was much of an engineer, but I'm sure you're really good."

He smiled softly. "Yeah, thanks. Um, so what kind of spirit do you want to live in your bow?"

"Eh?"

"Well, with every weapon, they have their strength and a weakness. Tell me what you want, I can make it like that, then we can find the weakness it has and train you to strengthen it."

_Okay… _I thought. _That's both helpful and weird. _"What kind of things do you need to know?"

Leo shrugged. "Anything. I swear on the river Styx that anything you say, I'll keep a secret, if you want."

_This is my weapon. I want people to feel the fear I felt after… _I shook my head. _Don't go there, Grace. Don't think about it. _

"Grace?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, laughing awkwardly. "Um, can I get back to you on this? I'm not sure what spirit I want yet…"

He nodded. "Sure. Your cabin is next to mine on the right. Rest, if you want. We can do this anytime you want."

I got up to leave, uncomfortable. What I _wanted_ was not something I wanted to _share_. To make the most powerful bow I could, I would have to tell my secrets. Not cool.

As I walked out of the Hephaestus cabin, I wondered what it would be like to tell _someone_. If he promised not to tell anyone, what was the big deal? I was tempted to turn back around and talk to Leo, but before I could, a group of really strong girls surrounded me and carried me to the bathroom. It didn't take them long to stick my head in the toilet. In fact, the whole ordeal ended in five—ten?—minutes easily, because I didn't fight back.

I never fought anymore.

"What? You're not even going to fight back? Not even struggle? C'mon, newbie. Show us what you got!" The ring leader, Clarisse taunted. I didn't move, holding back tears in my eyes, when she kicked me in my stomach. "C'mon! Fight. You can do it, can't you, Sunshine?"

I didn't respond.

They fought and hit me, laughing, like it made them feel better. I cried and took it in. _Not again. Not again, _I reminded myself. _Do not go back to the shadow days. _

When they were done, I looked in the mirror. My light brown hair was messy and in my face. I had a black eye, lip bleeding, face and arms bruised. _No problem, _I said to myself. _You are a survivor. You have been through worse. Stop the tears. No self-pity. _

Just then, another really strong girl slowly stepped forward. She had curly, chocolate brown that reached her jaw line. Her eyes a piercing blue. She wore a _Bleach_ t-shirt and skinny jeans, with leather boots. She was very pretty with her dark eyeliner and mascara. She was very tough.

"Hey," She greeted in a low voice. "What was that?"

I'm not sure what it was about her, but I burst into tears. "I never fight back. Not after all the shit I've been through. If you're going to hurt me too, go ahead."

She touched my shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. I won't hurt you. My name is Vivian, daughter of Ares. C'mon. Those were my sisters, so I'll take care of that, under one condition."

I looked into her eyes. "Yeah?"

A slight twitch of a smile flashed on her face before disappearing again. "Next time, don't hold back." With that, she walked out the bathroom.

_So… Did I just make a friend?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long break. I was going through a very hard time. It made things very tough and I nearly gave up on everything. I was about to quit fanfiction all together, but I'm better now. Anyway,**** I hope you enjoy!**

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When I went out of the bathroom, I found a red head waiting for me. She was talking to Vivian, laughing loudly. I waved to Vivian who just nodded slightly. The gesture was clear: move along.

I walked aimlessly around camp for hours, before the boy, Mitchell, tapped me on the shoulder.

"Looking for something?"

"Uh… Well, I want to find my cabin. I haven't found it all day and I'm really tired…"

He nodded. "That's easy. Follow me. Will, the head councilor for your cabin, can help you out from there." He took my hand and we walked to a nearby cabin. It was yellow, medium sized, with music blaring from the inside.

Mitchell opened the door and the music faded. There were about ten kids, both boys and girls, laying on the beds, or listening to music, writing, or tuning instruments. The only thing everyone had in common was the blonde hair/ blue eyes combo. They all looked so different, yet bonded through music. That was the power of music.

"Will!" Mitchell called out. "You have a new little sister, Grace!"

A boy looked up from his CD player. "Hey, Grace," he got off his bed. "I'm Will. Uh, are you sure you're a daughter of Apollo?"

_Uh… Yes. Why wouldn't I be? _ "That was what I was told…" I looked down at my shoes. It was so hard to look people in the eyes.

He shrugged. "You don't look the part, that's all…"

Mitchell shifted awkwardly. "Will? She is tired. She needs a bed.

"Oh! Right. You can sleep in the bed above me. Um… It may take a few days, but you will soon get them idea of how things go around here."

_I hope so…_ I thought, doubtful. I climbed up to my bunk, falling asleep to the song, _In the End_, by Black Veil Brides.


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